I am having big issues with sonarworks soundID trying to use it system wide…. (i don't really want to use loopback if can find a way to get it to work otherwise…?). Has anyone had success getting it to work so your headphone profiles can be used system-wide without the system getting hijacked? I am using it on a macbook air…. appreciate any suggestions!!!!

WARNING: Long-ish philosophical post ahead. I've been watching interviews with famous mixers over the holidays and got to thinking about how much recording has changed since I started in the 80s on analog gear. The hardware (or lack thereof) forced you to work in a more organic way than we do today. Musicians AND engineers had to have more of a "performance" mindset. You, on both sides of the glass, had to deliver the goods when the red light went on. I'm not sure that the current, almost limitless, power of modern DAWs is a always a good thing for the music. Are we (musicians and engineers) using the power of our DAWs as a crutch? Is the chase for perfection sucking the soul out of the music? Let's consider life in the (good?) old days of mid-level analog studios: Analog tape decks provided either 16 or 24 mono tracks. I started with an 8 track. You needed to plan how to fit the arrangement on the the available tracks and the order they needed to be recorded. There wasn't room for every mic to have its own track so you had to commit to a live sub-mix (drums, backing vocals, multiple mics on a guitar cab, etc). Punch-ins required a small gap on either end of the bit you were fixing. Screw up the punch and you have to fix the track you stepped on (cue unhappy client) as there is no "undo". Printing effects and processing to an open track of tape freed up the hardware resource for other tracks. No dragging parts onto the grid to fix timing. No vocal tuning. No comping. Your analog console had no automation, so doing a mix required memorizing a carefully orchestrated sequence of moves (fader, pan, EQ, FX, mute, etc.). It was not unusual for a track to have multiple instruments on it in different sections of the song (leave no tape unused!). To do a mix you played the console live like an instrument. I can think of several mix sessions with half the band learning mix moves, and who had to physically move where during the mix as we danced around each other at the board. You had limited amounts of rack gear (compressors, effect units, etc.) to patch into console. Plus, you had to commit to the mix before the next session because the board and your outboard gear didn't have any way to save/recall the settings. You could try to document every setting as a backup, but that was a huge amount of work (no taking photos with your phone). At best, I would finish a mix at night, leave everything running overnight, then check it with fresh ears the next morning.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2DR0H8e7h8

Mixing and mastering on headphones is important for those of us that work in less than perfect sounding studios. Especially for checking the low end where a strong room mode persists despite your best attempts at bass trapping or sound correction. Maybe they are your primary monitoring source or a secondary one, but everyone probably at least checks their work on headphones at some point. Personally, I like open back planar magnetic headphones, but they can be power hungry beasts. I'm currently using a pair of HIFIMAN Ananda Nanos (current model is the Ananda Unveiled). The brand new Steven Slate VSX Immersion One Planar Magnetic headphones are pretty interesting, but not a cheap date. Nor are the various Audeze models such as the LCD-X. The headphone outputs on the majority of audio interfaces simply can't drive the more power hungry headphones without running out of juice (current limited). I know the headphone outs on my Focusrite Scarlett Gen 3 are pretty mediocre. I can hear distortion in the sub-bass when they are turned up a bit. After a lot of research I decided to buy a dedicated DAC/amp for my headphones and just got a Topping DX5 ii ($300). It's supposed to be a massive bang for the buck and can provide enough juice to drive all but the most extremely power hungry headphones loudly without distortion. I used the SPDIF coax out on my Scarlett to feed the SPDIF input on the Topping so that I avoid the converters on the Scarlett. I also got a balanced headphone cable (4.4mm jack) to get maximum power out of the Topping. End Result: The extra clarity, extended range, and lack of distortion in the sub-bass was immediately evident. I was impressed. It sounds so good that I may hold off buying new studio monitors and primarily mix/master on headphones for now. I know that spending an extra $300 to drive an already pricey set of headphones seems like a lot, but if you get the chance to A/B a good DAC/amp (such as the Topping DX5 ii) with your audio interface headphone outs, do it.

AI.... SOooooo.... thought I might throw out a 'controversial' topic.... what do peeps think of using AI generated parts in their music? Are you having success? Inspiration? I know I have been very pleasantly surprised in a variety of ways and would love to hear your experiences. :D